Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambique’s former presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane, has accused President Daniel Chapo of lying about the content of his two meetings with Chapo.
Interviewed by the daily electronic newssheet “Mozambique Times”, Mondlane said Chapo had not been truthful when he denied the existence of agreements reached during their two meetings, held on 23 March and 20 May.
Mondlane said he and Chapo had reached consensus on four points, including the “release of all those detained in connection with the post-election protests.”
The other points agreed upon, according to Mondlane, were the cessation of all forms of violence by both sides; free medical treatment, within the National Health System, for all those injured during the protests; and support for the families of those killed in the violence, both civilians and police officers.
Mondlane’s statements follow a recent interview with Chapo by CNN-Portugal, in which he denied reaching any agreement with the opposition leader.
“At the first meeting, held at the Joaquim Chissano Conference Centre in Maputo, I was the one who proposed the four points that were agreed upon, and it was President Chapo himself who gave the final summary, in the presence of the facilitators,” said Mondlane.
Those facilitators included a former Interior Minister, Oscar Monteiro, one of the country’s foremost writers, Luis Bernardo Honwana, academics Severino Ngoenha and Narciso Matos, and lawyers Carlos Martins, and Tomás Timbane.
“At the second meeting”, Mondlane said, “those points were revisited and reaffirmed, and a fifth topic was added concerning the ‘creation of VM’s political party’. Consensus was reached once again, witnessed by the facilitators mentioned above, with the addition of one more participant: Teodato Hunguana (a former Minister of Information and former judge on the Constitutional Council),” Mondlane added.
He also said that his close collaborator Dinis Tivane has been appointed on his behalf, and lawyer Ericino de Salema on behalf of President Daniel Chapo, “to coordinate scheduling and the next steps.”
But Chapo has publicly denied the existence of any agreements or consensus, first in statements to the Mozambican media, and more recently in an interview with CNN Portugal, where he declared: “There is no agreement with Venâncio Mondlane. And where there is no agreement, there is nothing to comply with.”
Chapo acknowledged that “meetings took place” but insisted they had no formal status, claiming their purpose was “to pacify the country” and counter “hate speech.”
Mondlane said “One of the matters the other side never wanted to formalise was the signing of the minutes and summaries of the agreements. They were always evasive and repeatedly postponed the act”. He noted, however, that “witnesses were present, so that faith could be placed in what was discussed and agreed.”
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
